In Our Youth
by Alanna official
Summary: How Phil and Melinda really met, it wasn't in the academy. These two go way back before that, in fact, they were just kids back then. The story of Phil and Millie and the unbreakable bond that was formed between two friends. Childhood Philinda - slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

"The new neighbours have moved in," Lian stated before moving away from the window.

"Really?" Melinda asked bouncing up to spot next to the window where her mother had just been.

"Millie get your skates," her dad called grabbing his car keys.

"Ready," Melinda replied as she bounded up the stairs and back, ice skates in hand.

"Alright let's go," he said ushering her out the door.

"Do you think they'll have a pet?" Melinda asked with her head pressed against the car window.

"I don't know, perhaps," her father replied with his eyes fixed on the road.

"Other children perhaps?"

"Maybe."

* * *

"Do you like it?" Julie Coulson asked turning towards her son. "I know it's smaller than the old house but there's just us now so…"

"It's fine mum," Phil said with a small smile. He rarely smiled a genuine smile these days, not after the death of his dad.

"You can go pick your room," his mother said brightly, too brightly.

She's trying to put on a strong front for me Phil thought to himself as he trudged up the stairs. She didn't need to but she did, she just didn't want him to see her in pain. Phil knew how much his father's death had affected her as well as him, but it made her feel better to think that he didn't know about her pain. That's why he put on a show and let her put on her happy face, as long as his mum would be alright he would pretend that he didn't see her in pain. All she wanted was to be a good parent.

Slowly inspecting each of the rooms, Phil finally chose the most spacious of the rooms that had a lovely vine climbing on the outside of the wall next to his new house was nice, it wasn't too big nor was it too small. It had a nice three bedrooms with enough space for he and his mum to live comfortably and a lovely yard too. Perhaps he could persuade his mother to allow him to get a dog. Going back down stairs Phil saw his mother unpacking boxes and sorting things into their new homes.

"Decided on a room yet honey?" His mother asked swiping her hair back from her forehead.

"Yes," Phil replied searching through the boxes and finally locating the ones marked with a bold PHIL across the top.

"Let me know if you need a hand carrying any of the boxes up," his mother called after him as he lugged a box up the stairs.

"Will do," answered back, still pulling the box up the stairs.

* * *

"Wow," Phil's mum said as she leaned against his door frame. "You've done a great job sweetie."

"Thanks mum," Phil responded, genuinely happy. It had taken him a couple of days but now his room was well and truly his own. His posters and Captain America memorabilia decorated the room, giving it a clear sense that this was his room.

"Come down for dinner," his mother said pushing herself off the door frame and heading down stairs with Phil trailing behind her. "I got tacos."

* * *

"So do you think you'll be up to starting school tomorrow?" Phil's mother asked, methodically stacking dishes in the dishwasher.

"Yeah I guess," he replied flicking on the television.

"I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends," his mother continued as she tidied up the kitchen.

"Maybe," he answered hopping from one channel to another.

"I will be good to get a fresh start. New school, new friends, new neighbours, new house, new places to see…"

"Uh huh."

"Phil are you even listening to me?!"

"What yeah, new stuff."

"Right," his mother said walking in with a cup of tea. "Have you got all your school stuff ready?"

"No."

"Well perhaps you should go upstairs and prepare your things for tomorrow."

"Alright," Phil replied getting up from the couch and heading off towards his room.

His feet dragged upon the carpet as he made his way slowly. His stomach was churning at the prospect of school tomorrow. A new school with new people and no friends, not one familiar face. Phillip Coulson was scared. He sighed crossing the threshold into his new room, his blue eyes scanning the room with a sadness embedded in them. People used to say that he had sparkling eyes, but now his twinkly blue eyes seemed dull and lifeless. They remind him of his father's eyes the last time he saw him, cold and lifeless lying in a coffin. His father's once bright blue eyes were empty and dead, and as he looked in the mirror he could see his father's eyes mirrored in his own. He turned towards the window and leaned against the ledge, there was a nice summer breeze blowing and it felt good against his skin. Looking outside his window his eyes locked with a pair of deep brown eyes. They were mesmerising and had glint in them, something that clearly marked danger and adventure. He watched the girl in the window opposite him as she stood there and returned his stare. She was slight and maybe a year or so younger than him, but had the most intense gaze that soon had him looking away after several moments. When he looked back however, the girl was gone having drawn the curtains, but had left him with a growing curiosity.

* * *

Phil shouldered his backpack uncomfortably as he waited in the school office to be shown his new class. It was his first day and he felt sick with worry. What if he didn't make any friends? What if he got bullied? What if he made an idiot of himself?

"Ahh Phillip is it?" The deputy principal Mr Lynn said as he came out of his office with a jovial smile. He was a solidly built man with a bald head and steely grey eyes. To some he might've seemed an intimidating man, but the joyful expression on his face eased one's worries about the muscles in the his arms threatening to break free from the confines of his shirt. Phil liked the look of him.

"I'll take you to your class then Phil," Mr Lynn said leading the way.

They arrived at a brown door with with a clear panel running through the centre of it. Pearing through the panel Mr Lynn knocked firmly on the door before entering, gesturing for Phil to follow.

"Aah class, today we have a new student joining us. This is Phil," the teacher announced waving her hands in Phils direction. "And Phil is one of our fourth graders. This is a split class," the teacher explained to Phil, "so we have both third and fourth graders in this class. I am Mrs Matthews and I expect everyone to be kind and welcoming to Phil because we all know what it's like to be the new person in class." The class nodded at the teacher's words and some raised their hands to wave at him. "You can take a seat Phil, there's a spare next to Melinda," the teacher said pointing the desk next to a small Asian girl with deep brown eyes and dark hair.

"Hi," Phil said to the girl, placing his bag next to his desk and taking his seat. She blinked at him with those deep brown eyes before offering up a quiet 'hi' in response.

* * *

"Hi honey, how was school?" Phil's mother called from the kitchen as he closed the front door behind him.

"Fine," he replied making his way up the stairs.

"Did you make any friends?"

Phil's mother looked up in annoyance at his lack of reply. "Phil!" she called.

Phil settled down at his desk right in front of the window. He sat there quietly, intently observing the window opposite his. From what he could see, the walls were painted a soft lilac purple and there were posters of Dorothy Hamill. Phil assumed that the room belonged to Melinda as he now knew her, finally able to place a name to the girl with the mesmerising eyes. During class he'd tried to watch her subtly and learnt that she was quiet and kept to herself mostly. She had a friend, Rose if he remembered correctly, they were skipping together at lunch and she was probably one of the few people that Phil saw Melinda interact with.

He started working on his catch up work from the teacher, acutely aware of the movement in the room across his. It probably seemed like a very strange thing for him to want to observe the neighbours, but the girl- Melinda - just seemed so intriguing. Also his desk just happened to be in front of his window soo...

"Phil honey, you didn't answer me," his mother said startling him with her sudden appearance in his room.

"Sorry," Phil said gripping his pencil tightly.

"You doing homework?" his mother asked looking at the pencil in his hand. Phil nodded in response, one of the downsides of starting a new school mid term. "Alright, I'll let you get to it then, but I expect to hear all about your day at dinner," his mother said before leaving with a smile and ruffling his hair.

Once his mother had finally left, Phil turned back to his work before his attention was drawn to the front yard. Melinda was in the yard laughing and smiling as she practiced gymnastics of some sort, performing flips and aerials. Her father (he assumed) stood at one end of the lawn clapping and congratulating her when she executed a perfect move. Phil was entranced by her movements, the way she seemed to tumble and roll effortlessly, landing with complete balance and grace. He wasn't sure how long he sat there watching before Melinda's mother (he assumed) called both she and her father in for dinner.

Shortly after Melinda had disappeared inside her house Phil travelled down stairs to find his mother setting the table for dinner.

"Perfect timing honey," she said looking up at him with a smile. "Dinner's just ready now."

Phil's mother listened intently as he recounted his day to her talking about his new teacher and classmates.

"So did you make many new friends?"

"Not yet,"

"I saw the girl next door," Phil's head snapped up so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. "She looked like a nice girl, is she in your class?" his mother asked.

"Melinda," Phil said, it being the first time that he had actually said her name aloud. "We sit next to each other in class."

"Well that's lovely Phil, it's always nice to have friends who live close to you."

"Yeah, we haven't really talked much… She seems like a quiet person."

"I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends sweetie, just give it some time," his mother reached over patting his hand comfortingly.

Phil smiled at his mother thinking about the girl next door. At his old school Phil hadn't been a popular kid, but he'd had a couple of good friends. He'd never been close friends with a girl before though, he'd always thought that they were the festering grounds of cooties. But this girl, Melinda, she didn't seem like she was riddled with cooties. She actually might not be half bad if Phil really thought about it, perhaps even possibly a future friend.

* * *

"I met the new neighbour today, a boy," Melinda said turning her glass of water on its coaster.

"Did you?" her father responded looking up from his meal.

"Yes," Melinda stated without elaboration.

"Don't fidget," her mother said calmly, causing Melinda to retract her hand from her glass. "Is he a nice boy?"

"I don't know, I didn't really talk to him," Melinda replied with a shrug, she wasn't too keen on new people.

"You should welcome him, invite him over or something, dinner perhaps?" Her father said nodding his head, "all new kids need a friend."

Melinda looked at him with big brown eyes, contemplating his words. Did she want to get to know this stranger? This new boy next door? She remembered seeing him sitting alone during lunch and she felt slightly bad for not going and talking to him. She didn't particularly like talking to strangers but she knew what it was like to be alone without friends, it hurt. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just talk to him a little bit, if he was mean she could always just never talk to him again.

"Ok," she finally said agreeing with her father. "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I hope you enjoyed this story and I promise more chapters will be up soon. Please comment and let me know what you think or if you have any request or ideas that you'd like me to include in someway (I can always see what I can do). This was inspired by episode two of season three and I just had to write childhood Philinda. I think this will be maybe slight AU but generally I think it will tie in with the AoS timeline later. Please note that some things have been changed such as the age difference between Melinda and Phil so that they'd be a little closer together. Also I am not sticking to the era of the time that they grew up so that will be why some things may seem slightly AU. P.S. Comments make me write faster :P**


	2. Chapter 2

"Melinda May," Melinda said holding out her hand as she approached Phil sitting on the steps.

"Phillip Coulson, but you can call me Phil," he replied taking her outstretched hand.

She gave him a short nod of her head and a small smile as she took a seat next to him on the step. Phil watched her for a bit before finally voicing his thoughts.

"You're not going to go play with the others?"

She shook her head in response, turning her gaze to him away from the playground in front of them.

"We live next door to each other," she stated after a while. Phil turned to look at her wondering where she was leading with that sentence. "Would you like to come over for dinner?"

He was a little, ok maybe a lot surprised by her seemingly random invitation. Stunned, he just sat there looking at her before responding.

"I-uh, sure. I mean that would be nice."

She nodded at him with a satisfied look before standing up.

"Dinner's at seven," she said before turning around and heading towards class as the bell sounded.

He stared after her for a couple of moments before she was obscured by the other children on their way back to class. She was an odd little creature he mused to himself. Odd, but not in a bad way.

* * *

"Phil's coming over for dinner," Melinda informed her parents as she came into the living room.

"Phil? Is that the boy next door?" Her father asked looking up from his book.

Melinda nodded to him in the affirmative as she made her way up stairs to her room.

Having placed her things in her room Melinda skipped down the stairs in leggings and a top, coming to a stop in front of her father.

"Yes?" He asked his daughter lowering the book from his face.

"Can we practice aerials in the yard?" she asked with an adorably happy expression.

Her father sighed unable to resist her big, warm, sparkly dark eyes.

"Only for a bit," he gave in getting up from his comfy armchair, "but we must be in by six! You have a dinner guest at seven remember?"

"Yes dad," she said in a sing song way as she skipped out the door.

He smiled after her as he followed. His daughter was the most precious thing in the world to him and he loved her more than anything. She was so adorably cute with her large brown eyes and cheeky smile, he had a hard time resisting her requests, especially when she turned on the charm. 'You're too soft with her!' His wife would always admonish him when he sometimes allowed Melinda to get away with something that he generally would not. Melinda's mother Lian, well she was a different story. Lian was often much sterner and stricter with Melinda but that didn't mean that she loved her daughter any less than her father did. She had a resolve like iron, immune to Melinda's wide brown puppy dog eyes. Her daughter soon learn't not to bother trying to pull that trick on her, it always resulted in a dead end. Lian may have seemed like a harsh woman, maybe even a slightly detached mother, but she did have a soft spot for her daughter. She just kept hers better hidden. All she wanted for her daughter was the best, and she planned to raise her to become the best so that she could do whatever she wanted in life. It was only good parenting in her opinion, and Melinda would thank her later when she was older and understood the reasoning behind her mother's pushing of her.

* * *

Phil stepped up, nervously knocking on the door as his palms sweated furiously. He wiped them on his trousers glancing back at his mother who was standing just behind his shoulder. She smiled reassuringly down at him, running a hand over his shoulder comfortingly. He gave a nervous smile as Melinda opened the door.

"Hi," he said as she watched him with those entrancing dark eyes.

"Please come in," she replied stepping aside to allow them entry. "The living room is this way," she stated as she lead them down the hall.

"Hello, I'm William," Melinda's father said kindly as he rose from his chair to shake their guests' hands.

"Nice to meet you Mr May," Phil said shaking his hand firmly.

"You've got a tight grip there my boy," Mr May said with a laugh and a smile.

Melinda rolled her eyes at her father's antics, dad's could be embarrassing sometimes.

After Mr May's urging of Phil and his mother to make themselves comfortable, Phil found himself seated next to Melinda on the lounge.

"Thank you for inviting us over," he said, voice full of sincerity. "I don't really have any friends at the moment and we don't know anybody here."

He looked meaningfully at his mother. He may have been only nine but he was an intelligent child, he knew how hard it was for his mother to move to a completely new place without any real support. She didn't have anyone that she could really talk to, no friends or family close at hand, nobody to act as a sort of confidante when she needed one. Phil was there for her but he was only a kid, his mother didn't want to burden him with all her worries but he knew how she was feeling.

Melinda shrugged at him like it was no big deal.

"You haven't met my mum yet so don't thank me too soon," she grinned at him looking around carefully to make sure that her mother hadn't heard.

Phil smiled back, though if he was being truly honest he was starting to get slightly anxious about meeting Mrs May.

"Ahh, this is my wife Lian," Mr May introduced his wife and Melinda's mother to their guests as she emerged from the kitchen.

"My apologies for not coming out to welcome you sooner," Lian apologised to their guests as they made small talk and got to know one another.

Phil glanced at Melinda and soon noticed that she was staring at him. He looked back at her unsure of what to do.

"You have blue eyes," she stated.

He looked at her quizzically, not quite sure what to make of that statement. He was unable to ask her about it as just at that moment they were headed towards the dining room for dinner.

All throughout the meal Melinda watched Phil carefully as he too watched the girl with a sense of curiosity. She didn't say much to him and often answered his questions with few words. Neither child really spoke that much that evening, but it was almost like they were having a silent conversation through watching one another.

Phil let out a sigh as he mulled through these thoughts later that night as he lay in bed. There was something awfully alluring about Melinda May, with her few and quietly spoken words and watchful eyes. She was an interesting character and he thought, perhaps even a fascinating person, someone that he would very much like to get to know better.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I hope you enjoyed this story and I promise more chapters will be up soon. Please comment and let me know what you think or if you have any request or ideas that you'd like me to include in someway (I can always see what I can do). This was inspired by episode two of season three and I just had to write childhood Philinda. I think this will be maybe slight AU but generally I think it will tie in with the AoS timeline later. Please note that some things have been changed such as the age difference between Melinda and Phil so that they'd be a little closer together. Also I am not sticking to the era of the time that they grew up so that will be why some things may seem slightly AU. P.S. Comments make me write faster :P**


	3. Chapter 3

Phil glanced over at the desk beside his as the teacher droned on at the front of the class.

"Whatcha doin?" he asked quietly.

"Stuff," Melinda replied as her pencil continued to move rapidly across the page in short strokes.  
He continued to watch her as she paid little attention to him, she was drawing something, that much he had gathered. Melinda had a very focused expression as she worked hard at what she was creating, he doubted whether she was paying any attention to what was going on in the classroom.

"Melinda," the teacher suddenly said breaking him from his thoughts.

Melinda looked up with a neutral expression, hand stilling.

"Could you please tell me the answer to one quarter plus two quarters?" The teacher asked.

Phil sucked in a breath, she was done for wasn't she? Obviously she hadn't been paying attention and the teacher had caught her out.

"Three quarters," Melinda responded easily and without any signs of nerves in her voice.

The teacher raised an impressed brow at her answer, obviously a little surprised that she had gotten the question correct. Phil had to admit he was impressed too and also a little relieved. He really had thought that she was going to be caught out there. Slowly he let out the breath that he had unconsciously been holding in.

"That was close," he muttered under his breath returning his gaze to the teacher.

Melinda looked at him with a small smirk and a mischievous glint in her eye, that boy was such a worry wart!

"You worry too much," she said playfully as she resumed her artwork.

Phil looked at her with slight disbelief at her casual attitude, but did manage to catch a glimpse of her drawing. A dragon he saw, with a surprising likeness to their teacher.

A call of his name had him looking up from the footpath as a car slowed down beside him.

"Phil," Mr May said flinging the backdoor of the car open. "Hop in and we'll give you a ride home."

"Oh-I,"

"It's no trouble kid," Melinda's father convinced him with a smile. "Come on, you're just next door."

Phil smiled gratefully, it was a warm afternoon and sweat was dripping down the collar of his shirt. A car ride home from school would be much more pleasant than a walk in the summer afternoon sun.

Melinda smiled at him as she got into the backseat next to her. Her father turned up the radio as both children happily bopped along to the music in the back, heads nodding insync.

"Is your mother working tonight?" Mr May asked as they drove past the Coulson house and pulled into the May driveway.

"She's working late tonight so she won't be home until later," Phil replied as he collected his bag.

"You're quite welcome to stay here with us Phil," Mr May offered not wanting to leave the young boy to his own devices til his mother came home. "You are always welcome at our place."

Phil smiled at the man, warmed by his generous offer.

"I wouldn't want to intrude-"

"Nonsense!" Mr May interrupted as he ushered both Phil and Melinda towards the May's home. "You can't possibly be intruding if you've been invited my boy."

Mr May's welcoming and warm attitude towards Phil made the boy feel warm inside and also a little sad. His father had never been like this with him and it made him think that perhaps if things had been different maybe this would have been the kind of relationship that he would have had with his dad. He and his dad had never been all that close, but he was his dad and Phil had loved him. His dad was a busy man, what with his teaching and coaching. All too often Phil found himself placed on the back burner whilst other things became a priority.

Mrs May came into the room as Melinda and Phil settled down at the kitchen counter with cookies and milk.

"Hello Phillip," she said nodding in his direction as she fetched herself a cup of tea.

"Good afternoon Mrs May," Phil replied happily munching on a cookie.

Melinda's mother smiled at the two children but didn't say anything more as she took her cup of tea and left the room.

"Mum doesn't talk lots," Melinda said wiping cookie crumbs from her face. "Not like dad anyway, he talks heaps."

Phil smiled at her, also wiping the crumbs from his face.

"My mum talks a lot but generally she's been a lot quieter now," he replied.

Melinda cocked her head to the side giving him a curious look.

"What do you usually do after school?" Phil asked abruptly changing the subject. He wasn't quite ready to talk about his dad's passing yet, especially with someone he barely knew.

"I practice in the front yard," Melinda stated, choosing to ignore Phil's sudden change in conversation. "Doing gymnastics and stuff," she smiled.

"That's cool," he said sounding impressed. "I'm not very good at that kind of stuff though," he looked down.

"I'll teach you," she said sweetly, taking his hand and leading him to the front yard, informing her father of their plans along the way.

Phil watched her in wonder as she flipped through the air and landed with a flourish, ponytail swishing from side to side.

"That was awesome!" He said with a wide grin.

She grinned back at him, cheeks flushed and hair a little windswept.

"Your turn," she encouraged.

He pulled a face making her laugh as he got up from his seat on the lawn.

"Come on Phil! It's not that hard, you can do it!"

He gave her a disbelieving look but attempted to replicate her moves that she'd just performed for him regardless. His legs flopped about and flailed in the air as his body pitched forward and he found himself acquainting himself with the grass.

"Urgh!" he said as he landed flat on his back with a soft thud.

Melinda let out a giggle before running over to make sure he was alright. Dusting himself off and brushing the grass and leaves from his hair, he assured her that he was fine. They looked at each other smiling before bursting into laughter. Phil had looked so silly as he had flopped onto the ground!

The same manoeuvre was attempted by Phil several more times before he finally managed a semi-decent cartwheel. He left all the much trickier moves to Melinda and soon retired to sitting on the lawn again as he watched her prance and jump about the grass, moving from one side to another as she practiced a different variety of flips and aerials.

"This is fun," he said as she performed a no hand cartwheel in front of him.

Brimming with happiness, she threw him a dazzling smile over her shoulder, lighting up her features.


	4. Chapter 4

A cool summer breeze ruffled his hair as he sat on the front lawn absentmindedly throwing up a baseball and catching it. Phil sighed to himself. He was bored. Flopping back onto the grass he looked up at the sky, there were a couple of clouds floating about. It was a Saturday afternoon and there was nothing to do. Nothing. He was still new so he didn't really have any friends to hang out with and his mum was busy with her new job. Closing his eyes, he lay there enjoying the sun and the stillness of the neighbourhood. His ears perked up as he heard a beautiful sound breaking through the peacefulness. A piano.

* * *

Her feet were still as they barely rested atop the pedals, her arms reaching up to let her fingers dance upon the keys. Her eyes glanced at the music papers as she transformed the notes on the paper into music.

"Back straight Melinda," her mother said as she passed by.

She straightened her spine as she played, mouth tight with concentration. She continued the piece, fingers stumbling slightly over the more complicated parts.

"Not bad," her mother commented as she finished. "Now try another."

Melinda sighed, "how much more shall I have to do?"

"You must practice in order to achieve anything Melinda, nobody gains anything without working hard for it."

"But I've already done one," she complained.

"And you should do another, at least one hour of practice today."

The little girl huffed as she shuffled the music sheets in front of her but settled down to play once again. Practice was boring and she wanted to go play outside. Mother was so insistent though and would never let her skip a practice session.

Finally! A half hour later and she was free.

"I'm going to play outside!" Melinda called to her mother as she scampered off the stool and disappeared out the door.

Her mother sighed and shook her head after her, _that child…_

* * *

"Hey Phil!" Melinda greeted as she ran out into the yard.

"Hi Melinda," Phil replied sitting up brushing the grass and leaves from the back of his hair.

"Watcha doin?" She asked standing in front of him blocking out part of the sun.

"I was just bored so I was just laying there and yeah…"

"You wanna play catch?" She indicated the ball laying next to him.

"Really?!" He asked excitedly, scrambling to his feet and picking up the ball.

She grinned at him and nodded.

Moving a small distance apart they began throwing the ball back and forth between them. This is fun, Phil thought, so much better than spending the day alone bored. Slowly they began taking small steps back as they fell into a rhythm of throwing and catching the ball. Soon they were standing quite a distance from each as they began throwing the ball harder and faster. She throws pretty well, Phil thought to himself, better than some of his friends that he had played with previously.

"Throw it as hard as you can," he called out to her which she responded with a nod and a grin.

Putting all her weight and strength into the throw, Melinda hurled the ball as hard as she can, and they both watched as it sailed wide from Phil, landing in a garden down the street as it bounced and rolled. They both watched the ball as it disappeared in the garden, Phil and slight surprise and confusion, and Melinda with dread. That was Mrs Clayston's house.

"Huh," Phil said scratching his head thoughtfully. "Big throw."

Melinda smiled sheepishly and slightly nervously at him as her eyes flickered from him to the place that the ball had disappeared. They were now standing closer together, Melinda having walked over to where he was, trying to see where exactly the ball had landed. It was deep in Mrs Clayston's garden.

"How much do you like your ball?" Melinda asked dubiously, hopefully they wouldn't have to go near that old woman's garden.

"My dad gave it to me, so I'd like to keep it thank you," Phil answered looking at her strangely. "What's wrong?"

She gave him a look, something difficult to decipher.

"That's Mrs Clayton's house," she said as if it was an answer in itself.

"And?" Phil asked, confused by her odd behaviour.

Sometimes she forgot that he'd only been living in the neighbourhood for a short time. He didn't know all the things that those that had been living their for a while did.

"She's crazy," May lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "She hates kids and she screams at them from her house if they step on her property. She also has like a ton of cats."

His eyebrows rose at her words. Now that was interesting news.

"So what should we do then?" he asked.

She shrugged at him unsure herself. But if Phil wanted to keep his ball, then they'd have to venture over at some point and retrieve it. They looked at each other contemplating their situation, what should they do now?

"Alright," Phil ventured, "we make a mad dash for the garden, find the ball, grab it, and run."

Melinda looked at him sizing him up, slowly she nodded her head in agreement.

"Alright, I'm in, but-" she gave him a serious look, "if we get caught I can't promise that I won't leave you behind."

"Fair enough," Phil said with a slight frown, "deal then partner?"

"Deal," she confirmed shaking his outstretched hand.

"Is the coast clear?" Phil asked Melinda who was currently hidden with half her body in a bush.

"Clear!" she called wiggling backwards out of the spot she had been hidden in to scout.

"Why did I have to hide in the bush and watch?" she asked returning to his side, brushing twigs and leaves from her hair.

"Because you're the smaller one, and the ninja," he added quickly at her frown and opened mouth.

"Hmph," she said proudly with a smug look. She was a ninja.

Returning back to their mission at hand, they both stuck their heads round the side of the hedge that separated Mrs Clayton's garden from her neighbours. Finally deciding that the situation wasn't going to get any better and the coast anymore clear, they mad a mad dash across the wildly growing garden, heading for the last place that the ball had been sighted before disappearing into the wilderness that was the old lady's garden. They madly shuffled about, looking hastily for the missing ball amongst the variety of bushes and plants.

"Have you found it?" Melinda hissed as her head popped up from searching, suddenly hearing a noise from within the house.

"No," Phil replied still searching, "not yet."

"Hurry," Melinda urged as she too frantically searched for the missing ball. She could hear noises from within the house and they were fast approaching the front door that could be clearly seen out of.

"Found it!" Phil called triumphantly just as a loud 'Oi!' was heard from the front door of the house.

"Run!" Melinda called as she flew past Phil on her way out of the garden almost tripping on a cat that was walking by.

Wasting no time Phil followed closely behind running alongside her as they escaped the property. They kept on running even once they were clear of the old lady's house, finally collapsing in the living room of the Mays, both breathing heavily. They looked at each other, lying on the living room floor before erupting into laughter. The relief at coming out alive and succeeding in their mission bubbling over. Man it was good to be alive!

"Your face!" Melinda laughed pointing at Phil.

When she had run past him and heard her call, the look of horror on his face had been absolutely hilarious now that they looked back on it.

He laughed too and soon they both had tears streaming down their faces.

"The- the way you ran," Phil managed to squeeze out between laughs. "I tho-thought we were going to die!"

They both just laughed harder at Phil's statement, the adrenaline pumping through them as they rolled about on the carpet, faces turning pink.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hello everyone, another update! (This chapter is one of my favourites so far) I hope to keep this going til the end of hiatus but school is pretty full on at the moment. I have however finished the next chapter as I have already posted an up to date version of this story on Ao3, Here is a little teaser:**

"Quickly she shut the door again and climbed back into bed, curling up and feigning sleep. Soon after her father walked by, briefly opening the door to check in on her before shutting it again and continuing to the master bedroom. She turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling trying to fight off her sadness and anger, holding back tears."


	5. Chapter 5

Melinda startled awake as she heard voices and movement downstairs. She listened carefully trying to discern her parents' conversation as she crept closer to the door. She heard the familiar sound of her mother's heels clicking on the floor, followed by the soft thud of the front door. Quickly she shut the door again and climbed back into bed, curling up and feigning sleep. Soon after her father walked by, briefly opening the door to check in on her before shutting it again and continuing to the master bedroom. She turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling trying to fight off her sadness and anger, holding back tears. Melinda hated it when her mother left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. She was always going away on business trips and sometimes her mother wouldn't return for weeks. The longest time had been four and a half weeks when Melinda was five. She wondered how long her mother would be gone this time.

* * *

"Good morning little one," Melinda's father greeted as she came down the stairs.

"When will she be back," she asked quietly with a sad note to her voice, referring to her mother.

"A week perhaps," he answered, "I'm not sure."

She tried to mask her emotions into a blank expression but failed miserably.

"Why doesn't she ever say goodbye?" she asked cuddling into her father's side.

"Because she didn't want to wake you _néui,_ " he replied putting his arms around her. " _Ngóh oi néih_." _I love you._

"Ngóh oi néih," she whispered back, voice muffled by her face buried in his side.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Phil asked as Melinda sat down beside him in class. They hadn't walked to school together that morning so he was a little curious why.

She nodded at him once before opening her exercise book and facing the front. They didn't talk again until recess.

* * *

"Do you want to talk about it Melinda?" Phil asked as they sat together on a log watching the other kids on the playground.

"My mum's gone away again, on a business trip," she said sadly.

"Where's she gone to?"

"Berlin or something."

"Do you know when she's coming back?"

"Maybe a week, sometimes she stays longer than she says."

"I'm sorry Melinda," Phil said quietly, "my dad didn't really spend much time with me, because he was always doing things for his students or his players so I kinda know how you feel. It's hard when they're away,"

Tentatively he placed a hand on her arm, trying to comfort her. She gave him the smallest of smiles at his touch, she was glad to have him there.

"Thanks Phil," she said quietly, turning to give him a side hug.

He smiled back in return, happy that he could help. Taking some biscuits from his bag he shared them with Melinda. Happily munching away on their shared biscuits, they sat together watching the other kids play until the bell went.

* * *

"Favourite colour?" Melinda asked as they walked home together from school.

"Hmmm… Can I pick three?" Phil asked unable to decide.

She gave him a look that clearly said 'no' and 'hurry up' so he decided quickly.

"Red. No blue… actually how about white?" He was torn between the three colours of Captain America.

"Fine," Melinda sighed dragging out the word, "you can have three."

Phil grinned at her, receiving an eyeroll in response.

"Ok, your turn," he prompted turning to his friend.

"Purple."

He hummed in agreement, better than pink.

"Ok, favourite food?"

"Fried ice cream, it's the best. You?"

"Burgers, well DJ's burgers to be exact, they're my absolute favourite," he grinned.

"Right, DJ's are pretty good. Soo… Favourite superhero, not including Captain America," she added quickly as Phil opened his mouth.

He shut his mouth, pausing to think about his answer now that Captain America was out of the equation.

"Superman- no Batman!" He cried a little flustered and undecided. It was hard being put on the spot to come up with a favourite when Captain America wasn't an option.

"Is that your final answer?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Yes, Batman, your turn."

"Spider Man, he can do all sorts of flips and swing from one building to another. It's pretty cool," she smiled imagining being able to flip in the air from one building to another, spurting jets of web to catch herself.

"Good one!" Phil encouraged now wishing he had thought of Spider Man too. "Ultimate pet?"

"Ooh… I'd like a cat because then I could cuddle up with it at night and we could keep each other company." She grinned, she should try and convince her dad to let her get a pet, he would be much more likely to agree than her mum.

"I'd want a dog," Phil said thoughtfully, "I could play with him and he could follow me around the house and stuff."

"You should ask your mum," Melinda nudged him with her elbow. "I reckon your mum would be pretty cool with pets."

"Yeah, I dunno… I just don't wanna make her feel pressured or anything to do stuff for me because she feels that she should because dad's gone," he kicked at the ground distractedly.

He'd never really talked about what happened with his dad to anyone before. Sometimes just mentioning him hurt, let alone talking about him. Whenever he might've happened to mention his dad people always tried to snatch at the opportunity to talk more about him or ask him about what happened. Maybe it was too soon for Phil to do that, but with Melinda, Phil didn't feel that he had to elaborate on what he said. Quite often he would mention some sort of reference to his dad, but she never asked him about what happened or required him to explain. She was probably curious, any person would be, but she always allowed him to change the subject if it hit too close too home or made him uncomfortable. He liked the fact that she didn't push him, she just accepted him and allowed him to not have to worry when he spent time with her. Well not _really_ worry anyway. She was a bit of a danger that girl. He liked being friends with her though, she was probably his closest friend out of the few he had made at school. They spent a large amount of their time together, both inside and outside of school. Practically everyday they walked home from school together with the odd occasion of Melinda's father picking them up if the weather was bad. After school they often spent their time at Melinda's house, and on the weekends they could be found running between both of their houses and around the street together.

Phil had only been at their new house for a few short months, but already it felt like home. A place of friends and family.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Just so you know "néui" means daughter in Cantonese. I had to google that even though I'm Chinese-Malaysian-Mix of Asian. So ashamed that I can't speak my own language T_T but google is awesome. Also I wasn't quite sure about the superhero thing because they're in the Marvel Universe which makes things difficult but I'm just gonna go with what I did and assume that anything not directly linked to AoS if fair game. Haha anyway, I tried with the superheroes alright. Also Melinda's favourite food was a toughy, but I think I found something obscure enough without being unreasonable. I wanted it to be something different and completely out of the blue.**


	6. Chapter 6

Perking up in his seat, Phil listened to the teacher with a newfound interest.

"...the community baseball team is looking for players, so if any of you are interested in joining the team please raise your hand and will give you a form," the teacher announced to the class.

"You should join," Melinda whispered nudging him with her elbow.

He looked at her unsure, they probably had better players than him, he wasn't that great at sports.

"You should," she urged as if reading his mind, "you'd be awesome."

"Maybe next year," he tried. He was still new and there were heaps of other boys so they probably deserved to be on the team more. They most likely would not appreciate the new kid coming in and taking a spot on the team that could have gone to one of them.

His best friend gave him a look before raising her hand.

"Melinda," the teacher said with a curious expression, "this is for the boy's baseball team."

"I know," she said with a sweet voice, "this is for my friend."

Phil looked at her sharply. _She didn't!_

Melinda continued to smile sweetly at the teacher, refusing to look at Phil as she took the form, ignoring his frowning face.

"Hey," Phil whispered to his friend trying to gain her attention. "Mel!" He tried again nudging her with his elbow.

Stoically she continued facing the front, providing him with a complete non-response. She watched the teacher intently, like she was saying something interesting. Melinda never paid this much attention in class Phil knew.

"Millie!" He tried as a last ditch attempt. He'd never actually called her by the nickname before, but he had seen her father use it on multiple occasions.

She turned to look at him with surprise written all over her face, her mouth shaped like an 'O' .

He grinned at her despite the fact that she had grabbed a form for him because he wasn't able to himself. She looked at him, face slowly shifting into a cheeky grin, she didn't regret taking that form.

"You can't make me join the team," Phil whispered worriedly to her, the grin lost from his face as he thought about how the other boys would react to a new kid on their team.

"I can't," Melinda agreed still wearing a small smile, "but I can at least let you choose. The form is there and you don't have to hand it in if you don't want to."

Phil felt himself let out a breath of relief. _Oh thank god!_

"So you're not going to make me join the team?" he asked.

"No, of course not silly!" Melinda smiled at him, "I can't _make_ you do anything. Nobody can."

Relieved he sent her a small smile in return. _Well that wasn't so bad then._

"I still think you'd be really good though," she whispered to him as the teacher talked at the front of the class. "We play catch all the time so I know you're good at fielding, and I think you'd be good at batting."

"Thanks Mel," he smiled, touched that she had such faith in him.

She smiled up at him, teeth flashing.

"That's what friends are for."

* * *

Her eyes lit up with joy and she ran into the study. The bags next to the front of the door could only mean one thing.

"Mum!" she cried, halting to a stop, almost crashing into the door frame in her haste to get there.

Her mother smiled at her, putting her work away in a file, placing it into her bag.

"Melinda," her mother greeted, opening her arms to her daughter who hugged her tightly.

"Dad said you were going to be gone for a week," she turned her face to look at her mother, a small crinkle in her brow.

Her mother chuckled, the vibrations from it running through Melinda's little shoulders.

"I _was_ supposed to be gone for a week Qiaolin, but work went really well so I'm home a little bit early."

She breathed in deeply, inhaling her mother's perfume, familiar and comforting.

"I'm glad you're back," she sighed.

"Me too Little One," her mother replied rubbing her back soothingly.

"Please don't leave me again without saying goodbye," Melinda pleaded softly, looking up from her mother's arms. That was the worst part of her mother going away.

"I will try not to," her mother said quietly. That was as much as her mother could offer her, and she would gladly take whatever she could get.

They stayed together for a while, Melinda content to cuddle into her mother, who held her tightly in her warm arms. Quietly her mother hummed a chinese lullaby, the sound soft and soothing as she swayed them a little. She closed her eyes, she was so happy that her mother was home. She never wanted her to leave again.

Eventually her mother pulled back, and they separated slightly.

"We should go and see your father," her mother said smoothing down Melinda's hair. "He'll probably be wondering what we're up to."

Her father smiled at them both as they walked into the living room. The T.V. was on and he was watching the news.

"Ah, there you are," he greeted as Melinda smiled at him, leaving her mother's side as her mum sat down on the lounge.

Moving towards her father, she curled up on his lap, snuggled with him in his arm chair.

"You're going to be getting too big for this soon," her father teased playfully, settling her on his lap more comfortably.

She just grinned at him, resting her head against his shoulder. He smiled down at her, running his hand over her hair, settling his arms around her small body.

"I think you might need a trip to the hairdressers soon," he commented, "your hair's getting long."

Her eyes widened almost comically at his words.

"No!" she stated, shaking her head vehemently. She certainly did _not_ want to go to the hairdressers! She _liked_ her hair.

Her father laughed at her reaction only serving to make her frown. _This wasn't a laughing matter._

"Oh I'm sorry Millie," her father said, amusement sparkling in his eyes, "but you do need a haircut and it will be good for your hair."

She hmphed at him pouting a little.

"Fine," she sighed defeatedly after 'great thought' "but only for you daddy."

He grinned at her pleased, squeezing his arms around her in a hug.

"Such a daddy's girl," her mother muttered, lips twitching, hinting at a smile, to which her father threw her a smug smirk in response.

x

x

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So this chapter was totally cute to write and I absolutely loved it. Cheeky Melinda May is absolutely adorable and so is worried little Phil! I love the whole May family dynamic and I totally reckon that May would have been a daddy's girl from what we've seen. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Next chapter soon and I promise you won't have to wait as long :)**


	7. Chapter 7

The ball travelled up into the air and back down into his hands as he threw it again and again, lying back on his bed. He wasn't sure whether he should join the baseball team or not. It wasn't just about what the other kids would think, it was to do with his dad too. If felt odd, almost wrong to consider playing baseball without him. Though his father had been a busy man, baseball had always been one of the few treasured things that they did together. He had been at almost all of Phil's games, and it made Phil sad to think that now he would never see his father again in the crowds, cheering on for him.

"Hey honey," his mum called poking her head through the doorway.

He paused in throwing the ball and looked over towards her.

"Hey mum."

She looked at him for a moment before entering and sitting down on the end of his bed.

"You alright sweetie?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah," he replied unconvincingly, glancing towards the application forms on his desk.

Noticing his look his mother went over to his desk and picked up the forms.

"Is this what you're worried about sweetie?" She asked holding up the forms.

He nodded in reply.

"Oh Phil honey," her mother said placing the forms down and coming over to sit beside him stroking his hair back running her fingers through it.

"I want to do it, but then I don't," he sighed conflicted.

"You don't have to do anything right now sweetie, you can leave it for now and decide at a later stage if you want when you're ready."

He looked at her considering her words, it wasn't such a bad idea, he'd give it a shot.

"Alright, I'll do that," he smiled at her as she affectionately kissed his forehead.

"This one mum got me in Japan, and this one she got from her latest trip in Berlin," Melinda smiled as she handed him the snow globe . He shook it sending white flakes swirling around inside it. Melinda had a pretty extensive collection of snowglobes, almost one from every country he could think of, and some even had double ups.

"Your mum travels a lot," he remarked looking around her room and seeing the many different snow globes that were scattered about. She shrugged nonchalantly, she didn't really think it was unusual for her mother to travel so much.

"It's for work," she replied climbing down from her bed. "You wanna go for a ride?"

Phil looked up at her from the snow globe and gently placed it in her dresser.

"Come on then !" He called as he raced out of her room and down the stairs with her hot on his heels.

"We're going for a ride dad!" Melinda called to her father as they raced each other to the door.

"Be careful!" Was her father's response as he heard the slamming of the front door. Those two children had endless amounts of energy, he was glad they decided to run about outside rather than inside.

"Hurry up Phil!" Melinda called impatiently as she sat on her bike in his driveway.

"Yeah yeah, just give us a sec," he replied as he pulled the garage door down and hopped on his bike. "Come on, last one to the park's a rotten egg!"

He took off with Melinda not far behind.

"No fair, you didn't give good enough warning!" She called from behind him.

"You're gonna be a rotten egg Mel!" He shouted back with a grin.

"Am not!" She shouted back as she put on a burst of speed and drew up beside him. They both glanced at each other before pedaling even harder. They were neck and neck, one nudging forward before the other would catch up drawing equal again.

"I win!" Phil declared as the pulled up at the park together.

"Did not, it was a draw," Melinda said crossing her arms.

"Was not!" Phil said hopping off his bike as Melinda did.

"Was to!" She replied walking over to him.

"Was not," he said with a grin.

"Fine, last one on a swing is rotten egg," she declared before pushing his shoulder and dashing off towards the swing.

"Hey!" Phil called as he ran after her, "you didn't give enough warning!"

"Ha! Fair's fair Phil," she smirked at him swinging lazily on her swing kicking her feet.

"Fine," he succumbed, finally agreeing with her. "Fair's fair, we're equal now."

She smiled sweetly at him swinging back and forth.

"Hey Melinda!" Someone yelled from behind them causing the young girl to stop her swinging and crane her neck over her shoulder to see the owner of the voice. It was a boy of the same age as her, he went to their school but she wasn't particularly fond of him. He was annoying, big and had a loud mouth. Jack was his name.

"Just ignore him," Melinda whispered to phil in the hope that the other boy would just leave them alone.

"Hey Melinda," jack sneered as he approached she and Phil on the swings. "You hanging out with your _boyfriend_ again?"

She rolled her eyes at him resuming her swinging again, the perfect image of indifference.

"Go away Jack," she said with a subtle glare.

"What? So you can spend more time with your boyfriend?" He asked looking over at Phil.

"Leave her alone," Phil spoke up standing up from his swing.

"Whatever lover boy," Jack looked him up and down before walking straight through Phil, pushing him to the ground as he left the park. Melinda death glared him, jumping off her swing and dropping to her knees beside her best friend.

"You ok?" She asked as he brushed the sand from his shorts and legs.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he smiled at her with a shake of her head.

"He's just a bully," she said looking in the direction of where Jack had disappeared. "He picks on everyone."

"Well I don't like him much," Phil said as they both stood up.

"Neither," Melinda said, eyes quickly scanning her friend to see if he was hurt.

"I'm fine Mel," he smiled at her gently bumping her shoulder as they walked back towards their bikes. She bumped him back with a small smile glad that he was ok.

"Good," she replied looking up at him with a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Because otherwise I would have had to show Jack that no one messes with me or my friends."

Phil grinned at her, just imagining what his tiny little friend would do to that not.

"Lucky for him then," he smiled as they hopped on their bikes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**

 **Another chapter! I told you I would update sooner :p**

* * *

She focused her mind on the sound of her skates gliding across the ice. Kicking up a bit of speed she spun up into the air before landing gracefully on one leg. The cold air on her cheeks gave them a slightly rosy look, but what was most entrancing was the look of pure joy on her face. Her body moved in time with the music, delicate little arm movements and hand gestures, and the subtle movements of her skates showing off her footwork. It was exhilarating, the speed with which she could move and the thrill of twirling through the air as her skates leave the ice. She finishes the routine with a spin, her skirt fluttering around her.

The sound of applause fills the room as she skates off the ice. A smile is spread over her features as her father waits for her at the edge of the rink. He presses a kiss to her hair as they walk off together to awaits the results for her score. She smiles up at him as he holds an arm around her.

As they drive home, a silver medal around her neck, she watches through the car window at the roads and people that pass by. Pulling into the driveway, she spies Phil climbing down from the big tree in his yard. Hopping out the car, she skips over to him excitedly, her medal bouncing against her chest.

"Phil!" She calls out as she approaches.

He jumps the last part down from the tree and lands with a thud.

"Mel!" He answers turning to her with a grin as he brushes himself down.

She holds out her new medal to him and he looks at it with great interest.

"It's only second," she says with a small shrug as he hands it back. "Next time I'm hoping to get the trophy!"

He looks at her with a funny expression.

"Silver is still really good," he says with a slight frown. "I bet you were awesome!"

She smiles at him when suddenly she is hit by a brilliant idea.

"You should come with me!" She says excitedly.

Phil looks almost as excited as her at the idea. He's never seen her skate before let alone compete. It would also be really cool to see a competition he thinks.

"That sounds cool," he says, "when's your next competition?"

She looks stumped for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't know but you should come. I'll have to ask dad then I'll tell you."

He nods along. It all sounds very exciting.

"So whatcha doing?" She asks looking at the big tree behind him.

"Oh, I was just climbing," he looks back at the tree too. "I thought maybe it would be fun if we could make a tree house."

Her eyes widen at his daring idea. It sounds like a challenge but also like fun. A treehouse would be the best thing ever.

"How are we going to make it?" She asked frowning slightly as she realised just how difficult it maybe to put Phil's idea into action.

"Well…" Phil scratched his head under his baseball cap. "I hadn't got to that bit yet," he admitted.

She pursed her lips in thought as they both contemplated their predicament, staring up at the tree.

"I thought you were supposed to be the brains," Melinda smirked at him pushing his shoulder playfully.

"Hey!" Phil grinned back at her pushing her back in return. "I came up with the idea."

"Whatever Phil," she teased rolling her eyes at him.

"That would make you the brawn by the way," he pointed out to which they both laughed.

"I still think it's just going to be an idea for a while," she said as they finished laughing and resumed staring up at the tree.

"Yeah," he sighed, shoulders sagging slightly. "Probably."

* * *

He was almost half asleep when he noticed a bright light shining through his window. Squinting at the light, he raised a hand to block out the most of it. A sigh escaped his lips as the light disappeared, only to reappear a moment later. Frowning, he climbed out of bed and moved towards the window. Pulling the curtains to the side a little to let him peek out, he saw a light flashing on and off from opposite his window.

"Phil!" Melinda whisper shouted to him from her open window. She was leaning out of her bedroom window with a torch in hand. Obviously she had been the one sending flashing lights into his room.

Cracking his window open enough to stick his torso out he leant out towards her.

"What are you doing?!" He cried in a whisper very aware of the fact that they should probably both be in bed asleep.

"I was thinking," she whisper shouted back at him.

He frowned at her, she kept him awake because she was thinking? It was also really cold, she was lucky that the night was so quiet and allowed them to talk across the distance between their houses.

"We need a code," she elaborated with a smile. "A secret way to talk to each other!"

He thought for a second, that was actually a really cool idea.

"But how?" He asked leaning further out his window.

She shrugged at him and he worried for a moment that she would lose her hold on the window and fall out. She didn't however which was a relief.

"You're the brains," she grinned at him flashing her torch.

He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. That was so Melinda. She was always telling him that he was the brains of the duo, so he would tell her that that made her the brawn. It was like their own kind of little inside joke that always made them smile when they said it.

"Well then you're the brawn," he replied to which she smiled at.

Suddenly the smile was gone from her face and she slipped back into her room disappearing from view. The window closed quickly but quietly, curtains drawn and it was like she'd never been there at all. It all happened so quickly in a matter of seconds, that Phil was still half hanging out of his window stunned. Retreating back into his own room, he sat by the window for a few minutes incase Melinda returned. He waited for a couple of minutes with no sign of his friend returning before deciding he was too tired to stay up and headed back to bed.

x

x

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Yay! Another chapter! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you have any prompts or ideas that you would like me to include, please feel free to let me know. You can do this by either leaving it in a comment or message me on tumblr at hardcore-evil-regal. Remember, comments are like Philinda kisses, and as there aren't any Philinda kisses I need all the comments I can get ;)**


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